Nikhat, Jaismine and four other Indian boxers march into World Boxing Cup finals

Two-time World Champion Nikhat Zareen battled through a scrappy bout to storm into the gold medal round, joining Jaismine Lamboria and four other home boxers who also cruised to the finals on day four of the World Boxing Cup Finals here on Wednesday.

Jadumani Singh Mandengbam (50kg), Pawan Bartwal (55kg), Sachin Siwach (60kg) and Hitesh Gulia (70kg) also entered the finals, ensuring India will have a whopping 15 boxers vying for gold on Thursday.

Nikhat ends 21-month medal drought

Nikhat, who returned from over a year-long hiatus forced by a shoulder injury at the World Championships in September earlier this year, continued to show signs of rust as she was made to work hard for her unanimous decision win by Uzbek Ganieva Gulsevar in a messy 51kg semifinal.

The victory ended her 21-month medal drought. Her last international podium finish came at the Strandja Memorial in February last year.

“I’m very happy after Paris Olympics my medal account has opened. From here it’s only upwards and onwards. I was filled with nostalgia, I had become world champion in front of the home crowd and today I won my semifinal,” Nikhat, who had won the 2023 World Championship in New Delhi, said after the bout.

She will take on Chinese Taipei’s Guo Yi Xuan in the final

“I’m now looking forward for the final against Chinese Taipei to face her and win a gold for India.”

Playing directly in the semifinal after receiving a first-round bye, the 29-year-old struggled to find rhythm early, landing just enough to convince four judges in the opening round.

The next six minutes were punctuated by clinches, stumbles and broken exchanges as both boxers tussled for control with the Indian emerging victorious.

“My (first) bout has come as the competition is ending, it’s never happened to me before in my career. This is the first time I’m playing towards the end. The first bout yes wasn’t as per expectation but at least I won,” Nikhat said.

Reigning 57kg World Champion Jasimine stamped her authority early with flowing combinations to register a 5-0 win against former Asian Youth Champion Ulzhan Sarsenbek of Kazakhstan.

Enjoying a height advantage, she used her long reach and evaded her opponent’s punches with ease.

Jadumani lights up the day

India’s Jadumani delivered the most-crowd pleasing performance of the day, defeating Australia’s Omar Izaz by a unanimous verdict to march to the men’s 50kg final.

Giving away considerable height, Jadumani overwhelmed his opponent with relentless aggression in the first two rounds, mixing in crisp combinations and sharp uppercuts.

His nimble footwork aided his defence, and such was his confidence that he even dropped his guard, bouncing off the ropes to invite the Australian forward.

Neeraj Phogat (65kg), Jugnoo (85kg) and Sumit Kundu (75kg) bowed out of the tournament, losing to Chinese Taipei’s Olympic and World championship bronze medallist Chen Nien-Chin, Yuldoshev Jasurbek of Uzbekistan and Poland’s Jarlinski Michal respectively in the semifinals to sign off with bronze medals.